Blood
by natalee moon
Summary: No one must ever know how he hates the sight of it.   MalInara


Blood

By - Nat

Email – – - standard

Rated – PG13 (?)

Ships – Mal/Inara

Author's Notes – My first fanfic. Have been watching the show. Haven't finished the series yet, two episodes to go, so let's say that's where it's set.

Recommended Soundtrack – "No One Else" – Natalie Walker

This guy wanted his ship. He could tell by the look in his eyes and the clench of his hands and the smoothness of his voice as he lied over the comm. Mal always could tell, just by instinct, when someone was after his ship.

This guy was acting awful cocky too and he didn't like it. Beneath the excuses of wanting to make a business arrangement, he was self-assured. And it made Mal angry. How stupid did this guy think he was?

"As I mentioned," he told the young captain also docked on Resoon, a wealthy, core planet with a delightfully magnetic moon that made tracking his ship there very difficult, "We already have a job we're working on, so we're just not available."

He made sure there was no regret in his voice, to return the piss-off this guy was giving him with his attitude. He smiled and the young captain smiled that terribly assured smile right back at him.

"I think you'll come." He promised.

Mal's smile didn't falter, "Why don't you start telling me what this is really about? Cause I'm startin' to lose my patience."

"You cheated me out of a deal some time ago Captain Reynolds. It happened to mean a lot to me. And I intend for you to feel the same loss. I intend to take everything that means anything to you."

"You can go ahead and try," Mal said, his smile gone, "But I ain't bringin' my ship anywhere near yours."

He was docked around the other side of Resoon and Mal intended to leave him there. The man was obviously unbalanced. Carrying a grudge over a hire was bordering on insane.

"I've already taken one thing that matters to you," the Captain—what had he said his name was? Aiken? Atken?—said and motioned to someone Mal could not see.

The comm view swung over suddenly and there she was. Not down on the planet with a client where she was supposed to be but there, on his ship: Nara. And blood. So much blood. For a moment his mind would not move past that. The blood. No one must ever know how he hated the sight of it. He must never let it show on his face.

But for just a flash, a flash only Zoe caught, it did. For just a second he broke and Zoe had never seen it happen before. Had supposed the only sight that might do that to him would be seeing the ship destroyed.

First time for everything she thought, horror in her stomach to feel that old adage roll over her as Inara lay dead.

Then the Captain was himself again and so was Zoe. This Captain Aiken had just gone and made the biggest mistake of his life, thinking anger would blind the Captain into being foolhardy.

"You will pay for that," Mal promised, his jaw set in that tense, controlled anger that meant killing, and not quick and easy killing either.

"We'll see who pays," Aiken smiled as the comm. shifted back to him; as Nara vanished and with her all that blood.

Mal slammed off the comm. from his end and barked out, "Take me to that ship."

Though Wash already had them on course. Had punched it in the second Inara had appeared in some vain hope that they might reach her before she bled to death.

Mal was gone. His mind had focused dangerously. That normally keen, clear thinking edged in red. He saw only red. He saw only blood. And he intended to spill twice what she had. What she had. _Oh God_….there would be time for grief later. Alone. In his bunk. The same place he always thought of her. Like a luxury, let those thoughts in to eat at him and pretend. Now he would let them come in nightmare form, as death always did, until it dulled to purpose. Until the pain became strength and forward motion. Until he saw only her face and not that blood.

"You goin with him?" Wash asked Zoe.

"He'll take Jayne," Zoe said quietly, "This kinda killin….it ain't for me."

Wash took her hand and found, to his surprise, it was shaking. Always a surprise when she was the one that needed comfort. Needed strength.

Kaylee came out to meet them as they docked. Aiken had already tried several rather feeble lock-on beams and then fallen for the decoy lock-point she had set to break-off their main attachment arm. Serenity had that kind of presence. She seemed defenseless, easy prey but she was a cunning breed and made for a great trap to idiots.

Mal and Jayne were loading more guns than she'd ever seen them take before. Simon was beside her as she asked, "What's goin on Cap'n?"

His face had been set but she'd known him long enough to see something was horribly horribly wrong when his eyes met hers. She looked into those clear, steadfast eyes and saw blood. Her hand went to her mouth before he'd even said it.

"Inara's dead."

Simon caught her about the shoulders as she faltered and Mal finally heard someone make aloud, the sound echoing from deep in his gut.

Then the cargo bay door was opening as they broke into that ship from the belly up. Mal intended to take it for everything it had and Jayne was the perfect partner.

He had taken one look at the Captain's face when he had walked into his room and said he was out to kill some men and realized he was dead serious. He hadn't asked questions. Had known it was revenge but not for what. Now that he knew the reason he decided to give him a wide berth when they boarded.

And he did. They parted ways on that ship and the small crew quickly realized they had decided on taking out the wrong ship. A whole hell of a lot of them took off in a shuttlecraft and Jayne was left to sort through what was worth taking.

Mal burst onto that bridge and took out the two men with Aiken in two shots, his eyes never leaving him as he did it.

He saw that assuredness finally fail and fear take its place. Then they were fighting, guns knocked from hands, punches thrown with knives and finally Mal knocking him to the ground, hands about his throat.

"You thought being angry would make me foolish, but you see, it only increases my appetite for killin'."

Aiken was trying to get something out but Mal's hands were tight about his throat and his blood was spilling fast from a knife to the gut. Mal watched it pour, watched his eyes bloat and die. Then he slowly, slowly stood and turned anguished eyes to the place he'd seen Nara on the screen. There was still blood staining the metal but she was gone.

He headed around the corner, to the only other door out from the bridge and leaned against the wall for support as he hit that button, knowing what he would find on the other side. At least he would have that first moment alone. No one would see him.

The doors parted with a hiss and there on the other side, sat Inara, bound and gagged _and alive!_ open eyes gazing at him as muffled sounds tried to escape.

She saw him simply gape at her before he let out a choked sound and absolute joy washed over his face. He was to her in one step and cutting the ties, dragging down that gag and crushing the life out of her, both arms holding her, face buried between her shoulder and that mess of hair.

"I knew you'd come," her shaky voice murmured as her arms, still feeling the drugs, clung feebly to him. More proof that she was alive. She wasn't dead. All that blood, it hadn't been hers. It wouldn't sink in and he realized vaguely that he wasn't himself. That something had broken.

"He made it look like you were dead," he said, finally loosening his hold some and looking into her face, "You were lying in blood….."

Inara's face dawned with understanding, "He drugged me. He wouldn't have…he wanted to sell me once he got your ship."

He didn't answer and she finally really saw him and realized, he had gone into shock. She didn't think it was possible for him. He was staring at her and his mind had frozen. He had thought she was dead and she remembered seeing him, poisoned on his bunk floor.

She brought gentle hands to his face, "I'm not dead Mal…"

His eyes closed, his forehead was against hers and whatever had broken finally unbroke. Time started moving again. But when he opened them again, all the things that no one must ever know were in his face, in his hands as they took hers, then slid slowly along her arms and brushed back her hair.

For just a moment it was there. That desperate thing that shouldn't be. That love bald and bright and beating out pain in perfect rhythms. That blood, that fake blood and pretend death had blotted out all the reasons for hiding it.

_No one must ever know. No one must ever see. Especially her._

But she saw it. Saw that he loved her. That he hated her. That the more happiness she promised, the more liability she was. She clouded his judgement, curbed his will, ate at his control and filled all his silences with a dance of if's and maybe's. She was everything he must never want. Never have.

And he was so glad she was alive he was shaking.

His mouth found hers and he blotted out one of those if's forever. It could never be a pretend again, only a memory. But then she was kissing him back, hands tangling in his hair and maybe's vanishing in such rapid succession he was frightened. She was wrapped around him and promises were bursting out and burying themselves in him and he couldn't stop it. He should have wanted to. But he was drowning and nothing could stop him.

"Captain?" Jaynes voice came over the radio.

And when he pulled away he was himself again. He picked up his radio, "It's done. You?"

"I got everything's worth takin'. Ready when you are."

"Get everyone to the cargo bay. I'm bringing Inara."

Silence from Jayne. They were already there, having helped carry what they could and knowing the Captain would bring her body back.

Inara made a chastising face at him, "You didn't tell them I'm alive!"

He smiled at her, arms still locked impossibly around her, refusing to let go, "But what a nice surprise for them all," he teased.

Then he turned somber, "Let you see how much they all really love you…." _Too_.

She heard the rest, unspoken. Not how he'd planned to tell her. Had he ever planned to tell her? So many impossibilities had just come crashing into him he wasn't yet sorted out.

He helped her up and when her legs shook from the drugs she'd been given he caught her up in his arms and carried her. Carried her until they came into view of the others on the ramp, lined up with bowed heads to receive her. Then he let her down and helped her walk.

Kaylee saw her first and let out that sound that had been screaming inside him since seeing her alive again. She bolted down that ramp and crushed Inara with love and tears and happiness.

Everyone's faces turned to relieved happiness in an instant so that the air sagged with the weight of it as it dispelled. Simon gave River a slightly betrayed glance and River giggled like a little girl, "I wanted it to be a surprise!"

Then she too ran down the ramp to crush Inara with love.


End file.
